Random information

fraccy · May 1, 2012

Just had a very interesting chat with a ranger who came to fix a sticking boot on my Roadster. I haven't been following the forum closely recently but thought I'd just share the tidbits of info I picked up, apologies if I'm just repeating well-known rumour. Before I forget, and in no particular order:

- Replacement PEM/motor fans being put into cars are more effective but make more noise (mine haven't been done yet)
- Improved wipers being installed in service
- Got firmware update, only significant change being support for the Xenon headlamps

- Single spare right-hand drive chassis left, quite a few left-hand drive ones
- Reasonable supply of parts left for most common accidents
- Tesla have been buying crashed Roadsters
- 7 right hand roadsters left to sell, but this could well have been out of date

- Tesla headquarters in Maidenhead UK are closing/closed, all moving to "Europe"
- Telsa will have a temporary shop in Westfield during the Olympics

...and last but not least, there exists a Roadster with the Model S liquid cooled motor, and a heavily reworked battery pack which is in the same case but inside the components are "all different and half the size". This wasn't any sort of promise that it would ever be offered but it does exist.

Anyway most of that was news to me, in case its of interest to anyone else..

user497 · May 1, 2012

My Ranger in NY told me the exact same first 3 things:

fraccy said:
- Replacement PEM/motor fans being put into cars are more effective but make more noise (mine haven't been done yet)
- Improved wipers being installed in service
- Got firmware update, only significant change being support for the Xenon headlamps

I do have the new fans now and they are definitely louder when charging. I haven't noticed them while driving yet (haven't driven it much since the upgrade) but I hope they aren't noticeable. One of the things I love about the roadster is the lack of noise (at low speeds before the wind noise kicks in) and I would hate to hear the fans.

TEG · May 1, 2012

fraccy said:
- Replacement PEM/motor fans being put into cars are more effective but make more noise (mine haven't been done yet)

More or less confirmed by others. I gather the new fan is a single unit that has one motor run both fans (PEM & Motor).
(In other words, one better fan motor replaces two old ones.)
More here...

fraccy said:
- Improved wipers being installed in service
- Got firmware update, only significant change being support for the Xenon headlamps
- Single spare right-hand drive chassis left, quite a few left-hand drive ones
- Reasonable supply of parts left for most common accidents
- Tesla have been buying crashed Roadsters

Others have said similar things.

fraccy said:
- Telsa will have a temporary shop in Westfield during the Olympics

Maybe that is news...?

fraccy said:
...and last but not least, there exists a Roadster with the Model S liquid cooled motor, and a heavily reworked battery pack which is in the same case but inside the components are "all different and half the size". This wasn't any sort of promise that it would ever be offered but it does exist.

We can all dream, right?
Rumors of such a 'mythical beast' have been uttered before, but it may have been wishful thinking.
As far as I know, there is no real confirmation that such a thing exists, but it would make sense given what is possible.
(If it does exist, someone should PM me and offer to let me drive it!)

Doug_G · May 1, 2012

fraccy said:
...and last but not least, there exists a Roadster with the Model S liquid cooled motor, and a heavily reworked battery pack which is in the same case but inside the components are "all different and half the size". This wasn't any sort of promise that it would ever be offered but it does exist.

I don't know about the liquid cooling - sounds like a stretch - but I have heard about the improved ESS. The rumor is that they will bring out a new lighter-weight pack using newer cells.

user497 said:
I do have the new fans now and they are definitely louder when charging. I haven't noticed them while driving yet (haven't driven it much since the upgrade) but I hope they aren't noticeable. One of the things I love about the roadster is the lack of noise (at low speeds before the wind noise kicks in) and I would hate to hear the fans.

While driving you don't really hear them. I do notice the fans when I pull up to a stop light after driving at higher speeds. There's a whine coming from the back of the car that spools down as you wait. You could hear the old fans in the same circumstances, but not nearly as much.

I think it's a good tradeoff. The new fans are much more effective.

Dragon · May 1, 2012

Doug_G said:
I don't know about the liquid cooling - sounds like a stretch - but I have heard about the improved ESS. The rumor is that they will bring out a new lighter-weight pack using newer cells.

AnOutsider · May 1, 2012

fraccy said:
...and last but not least, there exists a Roadster with the Model S liquid cooled motor, and a heavily reworked battery pack which is in the same case but inside the components are "all different and half the size". This wasn't any sort of promise that it would ever be offered but it does exist.

Any indication of range or performance improvements because of it?

vfx · May 1, 2012

TEG said:
We can all dream, right?
Rumors of such a 'mythical beast' have been uttered before, but it may have been wishful thinking.
As far as I know, there is no real confirmation that such a thing exists, but it would make sense given what is possible.
...

This fits with Tesla's MO of making working prototypes as proof of concept.

So where in the world would this be?

My first and easiest guess would be Elon's cars. He has several roadsters. We know of Cherry red and White but there is apparently more.

It's not likely that the owner does not know about this beast under their bonnet but it would be amusing if that were the case. Everyone right now go out and look for coolant lines feeding into their motor!

Doug_G · May 1, 2012

I believe the idea was to lower weight and therefore make the acceleration even better. But who knows what else they might have up their sleeve?

fraccy · May 1, 2012

user497 said:
I love about the roadster is the lack of noise (at low speeds before the wind noise kicks in) and I would hate to hear the fans.

Thats how I feel and exactly what I said at the time. He said I could listen to them on another roadster before they're installed. He said some people had found "IP rated" versions of the original fans and installed them themselves, but that Tesla wouldn't be able to do it, so looks like I won't have a choice. I may or may not delay it, my first service is in a few months, but he had just come back from France tending to a Roadster that had broken down because of the original fans failing...

TEG said:
Rumors of such a 'mythical beast' have been uttered before, but it may have been wishful thinking.

He named the employee that had driven it, who I have met a couple of times (and in fact sold me my car). I felt he was speaking honestly because of the context of the conversation - he certainly believed it anyway. Sure it could even be deliberate rumour, but he wasn't saying its ever going to be produced as an upgrade, he just said one existed - we both then acknowledged that it might not be economical to produce, and I was at pains to point out that it was very likely I and many others would pay a premium for it.

I have to say it certainly ticks the box of "hope" for me, and thats enough for now

AnOutsider said:
Any indication of range or performance improvements because of it?

No further information unfortunately.

Search

Random information

fraccy

Member

user497

Member

TEG

Teslafanatic

Doug_G

Lead Moderator

Dragon

Member

AnOutsider

S532 # XS27

vfx

Well-Known Member

Doug_G

Lead Moderator

fraccy

Member

Similar threads